Joe D. Pagan

Oral Joint Supplements: Panacea or Expensive Fad?

Athletic competition often requires horses to run, jump, turn, start, and stop, placing an enormous strain on the skeletal system. As such, a performance horse may fail to reach its athletic potential or a seasoned athlete may not stay at the top of its sport because of lameness. Injuries and diseases of the joints are common causes of lameness. Because joint problems can be a limiting factor in career longevity of athletic horses, care and maintenance of joints is a major concern among horsemen. Joint health is an evolving science. Researchers are investigating many novel equine joint therapies. A relatively new approach to joint health is the use of oral joint supplements. Advertisements for joint supplements are in almost every horserelated periodical, and tack store shelves are lined with concoctions designed to improve joint health. Despite their prevalence in the market, much confusion exists regarding these products. The following is a brief summary of the information available on joint supplements.

Control colic through management

Factors which are difficult for horse owners to control, include breed and age of horse along with geographic region of the country where the horse is kept. Other factors including internal parasite control, the quality and quantity of fibre in the diet, and grain feeding can be managed to reduce the risk of colic. The following is a discussion of several nutritional and management aspects of colic which can be influenced, thereby reducing the incidence of colic.

Nutrition related problems of the performance horse

The horse in intense training for any event is more at risk than the sedentary horse for the development of metabolic disturbances and performance diseases. Many problems of the performance horse may have nutritional causes or at least be partially due to dietary factors. However, the tendency to blame the feed for problems which cannot otherwise explained is counter productive and does not allow progress to be made in understanding and solving the myriad of problems the performance horse is subject to. It would take several books to explain in detail all of the pathological conditions of the performance horse. A few of the most common problems are presented here along with nutritional or feeding management factors which may be a cause.